The Absent Author (6 page)

She looked at Mavis Green. “But they’re not M’s, are they?”

She turned the scarf completely upside down. “What do they look like now?”

Dink stepped closer. “They’re little W’s now!”

“Right. Double-U, double-U for
Wallis Wallace
!” Ruth Rose pointed at the man. “You just said you live in a little cottage. But Wallis Wallace lives in a big castle in Maine. It says so on the cover of
The Silent Swamp
.”

Ruth Rose pointed at Mavis’s book bag. “Seeing your bag again made me remember something I thought of today. Josh read that your castle was called Moose Manor. There’s a picture of a moose on the side of your bag.”

Ruth Rose handed the scarf back to Mavis. “And we read that Wallis Wallace’s favorite color is green. You
like green ice cream, and you chose Mavis Green for your fake name.”

Everyone was staring at Ruth Rose, except for the man they had untied. He started laughing.

“The cat’s out of the bag now, sis,” he said.

Then Mavis laughed and gave Ruth Rose a hug.

“Yes, Ruth Rose,” Mavis said. “I really
am
Wallis Wallace.” She put her hand on the man’s shoulder. “And this is my brother, Walker Wallace. We’ve been planning my ‘kidnapping’ for weeks!”

Dink stared at Mavis, or whoever she was. “You mean Wallis Wallace is a woman?” he said.

“Yes, Dink, I’m a woman, and I’m definitely Wallis Wallace.” She winked at him. “Honest!”

Mavis, the real Wallis Wallace, sat on the bed. She took off her glasses and
pulled the barrettes out of her hair. She shook her hair until it puffed out in a mass of wild curls.

“Thank goodness I can be myself now!” she said. “All day I’ve had to act like timid Mavis Green. I can’t wait to get out of this fuddy-duddy dress and into my jeans again!”

She kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes in the air. “Boy, does that feel good!”

Dink blinked and shook his head. Mavis Green was really Wallis Wallace? He couldn’t believe it. “But why did you pretend to be kidnapped?” he asked.

The real Wallis Wallace grinned at the kids’ surprised faces. “I owe you an explanation,” she said.

“My new book is about a children’s mystery writer who gets kidnapped. In my book, some children rescue the
writer. I wanted to find out how
real
kids might solve the mystery,” she explained.

She smiled at Dink. “Then your letter came, inviting me to Green Lawn. That’s what gave me the idea to fake my own kidnapping. I’d become Mavis Green and watch what happened.”

“Oh, yeah!” Dink said. “In your letter,
you said you were doing some research in Connecticut.”

She nodded. “Yes, and I mentioned the word ‘kidnap’ in the letter to get you thinking along those lines.” She smiled at the three kids. “I thought I’d have to give you more clues, but you solved the mystery all by yourselves!”

Dink laughed. “You recognized me in
the bookstore from my picture,” he said. “And you didn’t send me a picture so I wouldn’t recognize
you
!”

“Then my nutty sister dragged
me
into her plan,” Walker Wallace said. “I should be home checking my lobster pots.”

“While you were eating lunch, Walker and I ate ours up here,” Wallis said. “Then, just before two o’clock, I tied him in the chair and ran down-stairs to meet you out front as Mavis.”

Wallis Wallace threw back her head and laughed. “Do you remember downstairs when Dink said there was something fishy on the third floor?”

She got up and stood next to her brother. “Well, I’m always teasing Walker about smelling fishy from handling his lobster bait. So when you said something was
fishy
in the hotel, I had to pretend to cough so you wouldn’t
know I was really laughing!”

“Boy, did you have us fooled,” Dink said.

Wallis Wallace grinned. “Mr. Paskey was in on it. I had to tell him the truth. As you saw this morning at the Book Nook, my little scheme made him very nervous. I’ve promised him I’ll come back and do a real book signing soon. But I’ll be in disguise, so be prepared for anything!”

Dink shook his head. “I was so disappointed because I couldn’t meet my favorite author this morning,” he said. “And I’ve been with you all day and didn’t even know it!”

She looked at Dink. “I’m so sorry I tricked you. Will you forgive me?”

Dink blushed. “Sure.”

“I have a question,” Josh said. “Where did you really sleep last night?”

“Right here in Room 302. A few
weeks ago, I telephoned to reserve two rooms next to each other. Last night, I checked into Room 303 as Wallis Wallace, the man. Up in Room 303, I took off the hat and coat and sunglasses. Then I sneaked back down to the lobby wearing a blond wig. I checked in again, this time into Room 302.”

“Did you smudge the signature?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Oh, you noticed that!” Wallis said. “I’m so used to signing my real name in books, I started to write
Wallis
. So I ‘accidentally’ smudged it.”

“I have a question, Mavis, I mean Miss Wallace…what should we call you?” Dink asked.

“My friends call me Wallis,” she said.

“Well, the taxi driver told us you were smiling in the taxi. What were you smiling about?”

Wallis Wallace was smiling now.
“Oh, about a lot of things. First, I was wearing a man’s disguise, and that made me feel pretty silly. And I knew I was going to meet you, one of my biggest fans. And I was happy because I knew whatever happened, the next day would be fun!”

“I sure had fun,” Josh said, grinning. “Poor Mr. Paskey, having to lie to everyone with a straight face!”

“Boy, did I have a hard time pretending to be Mavis all day,” Wallis said. “But my plan worked. I met three brilliant detectives. You helped me to see how real kids would investigate a kidnapping. Now I can go back to Maine and finish my book.”

“How come your book jackets never say that you’re a woman?” Ruth Rose asked.

Wallis Wallace smiled. “Because of my name, most people assume that I’m
a man,” she explained. “I let them think that so I can do my research easier. I’ve learned that people clam up if they know I’m Wallis Wallace. So out in public I pretend I’m Mavis Green, just a regular person, not a mystery writer.”

“I get it!” Dink said. “You don’t have your picture on your books so people can’t recognize you.”

“Right. And I hope you’ll keep my secret.”

“We will. Right, guys?” Ruth Rose said.

“Thank you! Any more questions?” Wallis asked.

“Yeah,” Walker said, giving his sister a look. “When do we leave? I’ve got lobsters waiting for me.”

“I have a question, too,” Dink said. “Will you send me your picture now?”

“Yes, but I’ll do better than that,” Wallis said. “I’ll dedicate my next book
to my three new friends!”

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose did a triple high five.

“Excuse me,” Mr. Linkletter said from the door where he had been standing.

They all looked at him.

“It’s nearly checkout time.”

Everyone laughed.

Mr. Linkletter smiled, but just a little.